How do I adjust column width and click-and-drag scroll in Finder's column view?

Question

How do I adjust column width and click-and-drag scroll in Finder's column view?

Due to the new reworked Finder, I'm now unable to adjust the width of a column when I'm in column view because of the scrollbar covering the click-and-drag resize button. I'm also unable to pull the scrollbar backwards when click-and-drag moving a file/folder. It seems like this may be stemming from the misguided new design choice of having the navigation panel on the left side cover up what was previously navigable space, so pushing the cursor towards the left edge no longer registers to nudge the scrollbar.

[Re-Titled by Moderator]

Original Title: Frustrating broken functions in Finder column view - column resize buttons covered and no click-and-drag scroll

Mac mini

Posted on Jan 8, 2026 1:22 PM

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Answer 1

nibor209

Level 2

393 points

Jan 9, 2026 12:54 PM in response to lovellbenjamin

Perhaps get rid of Finder settings and start again. Does deleting ~/user/Library/Preferences/com.apple.finder.plist and restarting Finder help? You can also reset individual folder views by opening the Finder/View/Show View Options window which shows a Use as Defaults at the bottom and then you press the option key which changes the button to Restore to Defaults.

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Answer 2

Jan 12, 2026 5:02 PM in response to lovellbenjamin

Never mind, this fix went out the window as soon as I re-enabled the status bar at the bottom of the finder window. As you can see from these two screenshots.

Status bar disabled, scroll bar and width toggles displaying properly:

Status bar enabled, scroll bar covering width toggles:

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Answer 3

den.thed

Level 10

91,516 points

Jan 8, 2026 5:23 PM in response to lovellbenjamin

Go to Apple > Force Quit > select Finder > click Relaunch

If that doesn't help..?

Restart in Safe Mode followed by a normal Restart.

see > Start up your Mac in safe mode - Apple Support

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Answer 4

Jan 8, 2026 6:40 PM in response to Old Toad

Tahoe 26.2 on a 2020 M1 Mac Mini. This happens when I try to drag any file or folder backwards in column view (for example, if I were trying to drag a file under several layers of nested folders back out to the root of the drive, and then in to a separate group of folders). It doesn't appear to be a bug, it is consistent after multiple force relaunches and full system restarts, indicating it's yet another wrongheaded and needless change made with Tahoe's UI updates. I'm posting to register my dissatisfaction and frustration and in the hopes that someone can highlight a way to restore these functions.

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Answer 5

nibor209

Level 2

393 points

Jan 13, 2026 12:06 PM in response to lovellbenjamin

lovellbenjamin wrote:

Never mind, this fix went out the window as soon as I re-enabled the status bar at the bottom of the finder window. As you can see from these two screenshots.

Status bar disabled, scroll bar and width toggles displaying properly:

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/cefdb0a7-9fd3-49ec-ace9-322f91fe0632

Status bar enabled, scroll bar covering width toggles:

https://discussions.apple.com/content/attachment/9a1f76b1-455f-4863-8b60-d7bad41a73c5

I'm not sure what you mean by "width toggles". Do you mean the widget for changing the column width which looks something like "<|>". The widget appears over the whole height of a column divider for me except for where the column divider crosses the horizontal scroll ball which is a tiny area. I don't have a problem with that. I would say that the scroll bar is there but maybe not shown depending on the scroll bar setting and you are able to see the names that are under the scroll bar.

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Answer 6

Jan 9, 2026 12:15 AM in response to lovellbenjamin

Does this help to adjust Tahoe (?) column view width:

New Finder and "save as" issues for macOS… - Apple Community

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Answer 7

nibor209

Level 2

393 points

Jan 10, 2026 11:00 AM in response to lovellbenjamin

I can't work out from your description what you did to get into to this layout. My Finder is normal and shows the column of file and directory names immediately to the left of the sidebar and a great big empty area to the right of the scroll bar. File preview appears in this big empty area when I select a file.

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Answer 8

Old Toad

Level 10

215,700 points

Jan 8, 2026 3:41 PM in response to lovellbenjamin

What system are you running?

What model and year Mac do you have?

What are you clicking on and where are you dragging it to?

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Answer 9

Jan 9, 2026 7:27 AM in response to Matti Haveri

No, it doesn't work. I have "Show scroll bars" set to "Automatically based on mouse or trackpad," and have this entire time. The issue persists.

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Answer 10

Jan 10, 2026 9:51 AM in response to nibor209

This helped, thank you! I'm still unable to click-and-drag to nudge the scrollbar, but the column width toggles are now appearing above the scroll bar.

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